Myth and Archive: A Theory of Latin American Narrative (Cambridge Studies in Latin American and Iberian Literature, Series Number 3)

Myth And Archive Offers A New Theory About The Origin And Evolution Of The Latin American Narrative, And About The Emergence Of The Modern Novel. Instead Of Following The Traditional Categories Set Up By Literary History, Professor González Echevarri;a Explores The Relationship Of The Narrative To The Language Of Authority: The Law In The Colonial Period, Science In The Nineteenth Century, And Anthropology In The Twentieth Century. The Book Contains Readings Of Major Works In The Tradition Such As Garcilaso El Inca's Comentarios Reales, Sarmiento's Facundo, Carpentier's Los Pasos Perdidos, And Garci;a Marquez's Cien Años De Soledad. Acknowledgements -- Preface -- A Clearing In The Jungle: From Santa Monica To Macondo -- The Law Of The Letter: Garcilaso's Comentarios -- A Lost World Re-discovered: Sarmiento's Facundo And E. Da Cunha's Os Sertoes -- The Novel As Myth And Archive: Ruins And Relics Of Tlon -- Bibliography -- Indices. Roberto González Echevarría. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 222-238) And Index. Frontmatter Preface (page viii) Acknowledgments (page xii) 1 A clearing in the jungle: from Santa Mónica to Macondo (page 1) 2 The law of the letter: Garcilaso's Comentarios (page 43) 3 A lost world re-discovered: Sarmiento's Facundo and E. da Cunha's Os Sertões (page 93) 4 The novel as myth and archive: ruins and relics of Tlön (page 142) Notes (page 187) Bibliography (page 222) Index (page 239) After a painful journey away from the modern world, the protagonist of Alejo Carpentier's Los pasos perdidos (1953) reaches Santa Monica de los Venados, the town founded by the Adelantado, one of his traveling companions.